Similarities
by carnatiously
Summary: Adrien notices some similarities between Ladybug and Marinette over the course of a few months. [also posted as chapter 52 of Snippets. two shot.]
1. Chapter 1

**OMGGG ;-; my updates have slowed to a crawl due to school and lack of ideas. AGH IM so sorry. And Snow White with the Blue Eyes will be taking even longer since the chapter is just so hecking hard to write! Im still formulating the ideas! Please forgive me ;-;**

 **But… anyways… I thought this would be nice, especially after a pretty long time. Something nice and long to compensate. Enjoy!**

 **~Adrien has been noticing lots of things lately.~**

The first thing he noticed was their scent.

And no, it wasn't creepy, it wasn't creepy at all no matter what stupid old Plagg said! So what if he'd…sniffed Ladybug and Marinette somehow on different occasions by chance?

…it sounded a lot worse than it was.

Even though he'd only really smelt Ladybug's scent once, during Animan's attack while they were hiding in the bakery, it was as if that moment turned on a switch for him. Every time they were near, he could explicitly smell her scent. It was probably just the cat senses speaking to him, enhancing his sense of smell. It could very well be out of memory- after all, she always smelled like baked goods and he knew that had to be because when he had first smelled her they were inside of a bakery. It wasn't like she spent every day inside of one.

But Marinette, Marinette was a different case. He never smelled her, not intentionally at least, but the weird old switch in his brain was on, causing him to catch whiffs of- of jasmine and vanilla and _bakery_ whenever he was near her _._ He didn't know why his brain did this to him, and only in Marinette's case.And this time the bakery scent wholly made sense, because everyone knew Marinette lived inside of one, but he couldn't help noticing just how closely Ladybug's and Marinette's scents matched up, how sometimes he'd catch that sweet scent and turn around expecting Ladybug only to see Marinette, or vice versa.

Although, he could never be sure. For some reason Ladybug and Marinette were never in the same place at the same time, so he couldn't compare and contrast...

Once, as Chat Noir, when he was sitting on her balcony all casual with his tail swinging out behind him, he'd asked her what he smelt like to her. Marinette had looked at him like he was crazy- he could see her expression perfectly in the dark- before her face melted into a cheeky grin.

"Jagged Stone."

His head jerked so his eyes could meet hers, wide and unbelieving at the response she just gave. "Did you just say Jagged Stone?"

"Yeah," Marinette shrugged, leaning forward on the metal railing, "I designed his album with a scent sticker." She paused for emphasis. "It smelled like sweat and leather."

She burst into full-blown laughter when he pouted, something she miraculously managed to see in the dark. Or maybe she just knew what expression he was making by heart.

"I'll take it as a compliment that you think I smell like a rockstar..."

…

The second thing he noticed was their hair.

After all, how many teens walked around Paris in pigtails?

But it wasn't like he was making fun of Ladybug's and Marinette's hairstyles- no, of course not. He respected their fashion decisions, if that was what they wanted to wear, then so be it (not to mention they both pulled it off amazingly). He'd pondered, at one point, that Marinette may have been wearing pigtails because she was a Ladybug fan. Lots of people did that, right? But then he remembered that he'd met Marinette before Ladybug, and her hair was pulled into those very same pigtails back then, and then Adrien was back to square one.

It wasn't just the style. It was also the color. Somehow, both of the girls had naturally dark hair with a sort of metallic blue shine… it was something like he'd never seen before. Adrien had seen Marinette's mother before- she'd insisted he call her Sabine- and her hair was also a very unique shade of navy blue. So he knew how Marinette got her special shade. But Ladybug?

Everything about her was a mystery. And now another thing to add onto that mysterious list: all the coincidences she seemed to have with Marinette unknowingly. Maybe they were friends…

With the level of comfort that Chat Noir and Marinette had with each other he headed over one afternoon for no reason other than to just ask about them being friends, at the same time the sun was setting. It took lots of persuading , but Plagg eventually agreed- once he was promised a belly full of Camembert in the near future, that is.

Chat Noir raced across the rooftops, grinning at passerby and sometimes even doing a flip or two just to humor them with some parkour. People were out late, seeing as it was summer and the summer sunsets were always late. His shadow stretched out beneath his feet into the street as the sun dipped lower, looking like a long and sleek cat ready to curl itself around the moon.

Finally he reached his destination and only a few moments after his boots tapped down on the ground, the trapdoor opened, revealing Marinette with a pencil in her hand.

"Chat," she said, looking more surprised than she sounded. "What are you doing here?"

"Just _paw-_ sing in the middle of a run," he said with a Cheshire grin, lips stretching wider when she groaned.

"Stray cat," she muttered, and Chat gasped.

"You know I can hear you, right?"

"Yes," Marinette said, her twitching lips betraying her humor. She climbed out of the trap door and joined him on the balcony, leaning on the railing to watch the sun go to sleep as it painted the sky red.

"So, Princess, I've been wondering," Chat said after a few long minutes of her watching the sun. It'd been quiet, but not uncomfortably so, and he felt sort of weird breaking the silence. "Are you friends with Ladybug?"

From behind her he could see her form suddenly tense, and then she turned around like a creaky robot, all mechanical movements.

"U-Uh…" she drew out. "What made you… how did you even reach that conclusion?"

"I don't know," Chat said, a little embarrassed now that he said it out loud. "Well, she did seem to know you personally when she called to tell me that you'd be helping me with Evillustrator. And you guys wear, like, the same hairstyle," he pointed out and Marinette's hand flew to one of her pigtails. "And also, you seem like you'd be good friends. Just based on your personalities."

"Based on our personalities, huh?" Marinette mused, twirling the pencil between her fingers. "Because we're so different?"

"No, because you're really alike," Chat said, and Marinette looked really surprised at that. He didn't know why. They were both creative, and brave, and admirable-…

He left feeling more confused than before.

…

The third thing he noticed was their creativity. Well, more like love for fashion.

Marinette, of course, she was obvious from day one. He knew about fashion, that sort of came with the trade given the situation he was in, and so he knew that her backpack and shirt and purse had to have been designed by her because those weren't on the market. Then, later on, he saw her sketchbook, and her designs, and her creations- even her room at a couple of points in time- and by then it just became a fact. _The sky is blue. Marinette is great at designing._

Ladybug, well, he couldn't have known because of her mysterious nature, couldn't have known unless they had sat and talked for hours after patrol perched on the Eiffel Tower in the night. Which they did.

Somehow, one thing led to another, and Ladybug was lamenting about her own suit.

"Like, come on!" Ladybug groused. "I'm a _ladybug,_ I could have gotten- I don't know- antennae, or an overcoat thing like the real bugs have, or heck even wings! Okay, that would be for more than just looks, but still," she said. "But- my suit is literally just all red! With black spots, and my yoyo is just wrapped around my waist. And then there's _you,"_ she grumbled, and Chat couldn't help it- he burst out laughing as she continued with her ramble. "You get cool cat ears, cool cat eyes, a bell _\- a bell!_ A zipper, you even have pockets, and you get _gloves_ and _claws_ and a _belt_ and a belt _tail,_ and you get to keep your baton in your belt and your boots have cuffs on them too!" She paused for a split second before exploding, "THEY EVEN HAVE METAL TIPS AND PAW PRINTS ON THE BOTTOM! THE _BOTTOM!"_

By now Chat was laughing so hard he was clutching his ribs. He felt like if he wasn't careful he'd fall off the tower and turn into a cat pancake, but he really couldn't care, it was far too funny. He didn't know that Ladybug had been so jealous! It was too amusing.

"I didn't know you checked me out so much My Lady, you captured every detail," he snickered, grinning wider when Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"It's just that your suit is so cool and mines is so lame," she grumbled. "I'm thinking I should just design something to wear during our fights and patrols. Functional too, of course, but also just so that my suit won't look as bland…"

He forsook his comment of "you'd look good in anything", instead asking with wide eyes as he sat up, "You design?!"

Ladybug blinked, looking sort of at war with herself based on the expressions on her face. She was probably frustrated that she let such a detail slip. "Well, yeah," she finally said. "I… yes. I do."

Chat subconsciously tacked that onto the list of things suspiciously similar between Marinette and Ladybug with a grin.

….

Number four: their jumping to conclusions.

At this point he was used to all of their similarities popping up here and there, like fate trying to dangle some yarn in front of his nose as if he were a cat. Marinette and Ladybug had to be doppelgangers at this point.

However, this similarity between them really had him reeling. But for a sort of… different reason.

Ladybug's tendency to jump to conclusions definitely sprouted from her distrust and distaste for liars. He could tell that much from the Antibug and Volpina incidents. But he hadn't even entertained the idea that Marinette could be just as imaginative, until _that_ sunset.

It was October, so there were Halloween decorations everywhere; and, since Paris was extra with everything they did, there were glowing little ghosts along the streets and on the lights, and there was not a single house seen for blocks which didn't have Halloween décor on it to some decree.

(And, since Paris' heroes were also extra with lots of things they did, there were big glowing pumpkins placed in varying locations on the Eiffel Tower…)

When Chat Noir jumped onto Marinette's balcony, she was already there waiting, wrapped up in a blanket with a mug of something steaming in her hands. Chat would have laughed at how weirdly cliché it was if not for the look of intense concentration on her face.

After a few moments, he said, "Expecting your knight?"

Marinette took a few seconds to reply, "I knew you'd come. And also I was thinking."

Chat blinked at the vague response, feeling like a person awaiting their fortune by a magic ball. When her silence continued, he decided to tread water. "Uh… do tell?"

As a cat, something that should never be done is treading water.

"Do you know Adrien Agreste?" Marinette suddenly blurted out, leaving her vague-like aura behind. Chat jumped, not at her outburst, but at the sound of his name. It was just an instinct when he was in suit, that whenever he heard his name his hairs on the back of his neck stood.

"Uhh, well, how could someone not know who he is?" Chat said, trying his very best to seem like a normal guy who knew who Adrien Agreste was. "He's, like, all over the city… heh…"

Chat cringed. He felt so narcissistic saying that, even though it was just the truth and an honest answer to Marinette's question.

Marinette eyed him for a few moments before sighing into her mug and standing up, leaving the blanket behind. She was in pajamas. A long-sleeved, pink fleece top and pink fleece bottoms with white polka dots. It caught him off guard. But what she said next caught him _way_ more off guard.

"I think Adrien has a crush on you."

Chat actually choked, he choked on his own spit and was very well going to die if Marinette hadn't offered him her mug. He took a sip and blinked as the taste of smooth, sweet chocolate erupted on his tongue. It was warm.

After he'd calmed down, he croaked out, " _What?"_

Marinette hummed and put her fingers to her chin, thinking hard. He felt sort of afraid for her answer- how long had she been contemplating this? And no, he was _not_ so narcissistic that he'd… ugh… Plagg would never shut up about this one.

"Okay, well, let me break this down. After the time I helped you with Evillustrator, Adrien showed up at my locker. He asked me how it was like working with you… and then he spoke about how cool and awesome you were. That's number one."

Chat sweated. He hadn't seen that coming, but now that Marinette had said it out loud, he realized that any normal person could come to a conclusion like the one she had. _Crap!_ Why had he even done that? He still couldn't understand his own actions from that day.

"Well, most of the times after that are smaller and similar, but then there's also the fact that he always shies away from Chloe, who is a girl…"

"That could just be because she's _Chloe,"_ Chat blurted out without meaning to. Marinette stared into his eyes and he felt like she was taking him apart piece by piece. But then Marinette suddenly nodded with an understanding look on her face.

"Yes, that could be. But still, I think he does have a crush on you." Marinette breathed out a little laugh before laughing all out. "No wonder he's such a nice and amazing guy!"

Chat ignored the warmth that erupted when she described him as _nice_ and _amazing_ and instead floundered to patch things up. Well, as best he could as Chat Noir.

"U-Uh, no, wait, I think you have it all wrong," Chat managed to laugh out. "He- no, he's just-uh- friends…" Chat's eyes slowly widened as he nodded along with his claim. "Friends with me. Yeah! You'll never see him or me, talking bad behind the other's back. That's just how we are."

For some reason Marinette's eyes were widening and- was that _hope_ shining in them? He was no author, but he was pretty sure her eyes were sparkling.

"Are you sure?" She asked excitedly, and suddenly she was right in front of him with her hands clasped under her chin and- _wow she looks cute in pajamas, wait, what?_ "You're really positive."

"If he liked me, I would know. I'm absolutely _paw-_ sitive," Chat beamed, and Marinette's expression fell into a deadpan one as she backed away, although she still had that hope glimmering in her eyes. Some part of him felt relieved when she wasn't in such close proximity- some other annoying part felt disappointed. He outwardly burst into laughter.

Talk about a pre-Halloween scare.

…

It was around the middle of December and the school was setting up for the school play a week before break began. The following week would be filled with merry people, merry times, merry food, classes not really following the curriculum and instead throwing parties and hosting Secret Santas, rainbow lights blending into the snow glittering like a blanket all over Paris…

It was Christmas month.

Marinette, Kim, Alix and Adrien were put in charge of bringing in the props for the play from the truck outside. There were lots of props, and most of them were heavy. Ivan had also been asked to help, but he wouldn't go without Mylene (being the romantic sap he was, Adrien didn't even mind). Kim and Alix were exhausting themselves by making it a race, seeing who could lug out the most things and fastest. So Adrien and Marinette took their time, bringing things out and onto the school stage at a steady pace together.

Marinette was bundled up in her winter clothes, things she must have designed herself. It was all consistent with her backpack, purse, and other clothing. In order to get some conversation going, and also because he was genuinely interested, he asked, "Did you make your clothes yourself?"

Marinette suddenly jolted when he spoke, and she looked down at her clothes as they walked to the truck, boots leaving behind imprints in the snow.

"Um… yeah," she said, smiling shyly. Her nose and cheeks were red with the cold. "I made them last summer."

"Wow," Adrien breathed, a little cloud forming in the frigid air, and then he laughed. "I wish I could be talented enough to do that! I'd have made myself a… beanie. Yeah," he said with a small smile on his face, remembering the scarf from his father. "A blue beanie." He glanced over to Marinette again and his smile widened. "Your designs are super amazing, though, so even if I did make it it'd probably be put to shame."

Marinette laughed a little, her cheeks redder- and not just from the cold. "T-Thanks…"

They finished unloading the truck half an hour later. Alix won the race against Kim.

Four days later, it was Friday, the day before break. Mme. Bustier was one of the many teachers to host a Secret Santa, announced at the end of the day on Monday after everyone was done setting up the stage. For the next three days, it was all anyone could talk about other than the play, people gushing to their friends about things they bought but keeping their lips sealed about who they'd be gifting it to.

Adrien had gotten very lucky (for once); his person was Nino. He knew Nino well enough to easily buy the perfect gift for him within three days, and he'd never feel nervous around Nino when giving the gift to him as he would if he'd gotten someone like Mar-

-...never mind.

It was early morning, and the schedule for the day was definitely not one that anyone was complaining about. They were going to exchange gifts first, watch one of those amazingly sappy Christmas movies next with treats, and then just enjoy their time for the next half hour before going to the school auditorium to watch the play that the drama class would put on. A special Christmas themed one.

It was times like these that made Adrien wonder how the heck he survived Christmas before school.

"Alright everyone," Mme. Bustier smiled and clapped her hands together. Fairy lights were the only thing illuminating her classroom; they were flashing red, green, and gold, and casting shadows in the crevices. A mini Christmas Tree was on the teacher's desk, very bright and shimmering with a golden star on top. The faces of the students and the walls and desks were all softly lit up in the colors of the lights. Lots of people had come decked out in their _ugly Christmas_ sweaters, excited for the day.

"Let's do this differently. Everyone will close their eyes, and if I tap your shoulder, you will quietly- _quietly-_ get up and place your gift in front of your person. Then you will go back to your seat and close your eyes again. You will only open your gift once I tell the whole class that all the exchanges have been done. Sound good?"

Everyone cheered in response and the teacher smiled. "Alright, class. Close your eyes and try not to go to sleep!"

There were chuckles scattered throughout the room as people closed their eyes and even put their heads down for better measure. Adrien grinned at Nino before placing his head down in his arms, trying not to think too hard. Who would gift him? Well, no matter who it was, he'd appreciate it since they put thought into it. He knew that he could've gotten Nino some gift card to a music store and called it a day, but he cared too much about his best bro for that. Bromance always came through.

A couple of minutes of scuffling shoes, muted footsteps, excited whispers and shushing later, a finger tapped him twice on the shoulder and his head immediately shot up. Mme. Bustier amusedly put a finger over her lips. Adrien glanced over to Nino with his head in his arms, cap put on backward to avoid bending the bill, and carefully put his bag in front of him instead of sliding it to avoid the crinkling noise. Adrien then put his head down once again, ready to wait some more.

It felt like eons later when Mme. Bustier's soft voice rang out.

"All right, everyone… open your eyes and your gifts."

Immediately there was the sound of crinkling cellophane and ripping paper. Adrien slowly lifted his head, grinning in excitement. That excitement spiked up when he spotted a gift bag in front of him, swirling with the colors of the fairy lights but also visibly light pink. All around the classroom happy gasps and exclamations were being made, and as Adrien pulled something soft and warm out of the bag, he couldn't help letting one of his own slip out.

A note was attached to it. It said, ' _I remembered you saying how you would want one, so I decided to make it for you! I hope you like it even though it was a little rushed, heh. Merry Christmas Adrien! :)'_

The beanie was nothing short of perfect.

"DUDE! This- this is sick!" Nino said, almost teary-eyed, as he looped his new headphones around his neck and stared wide-eyed at the mixtape. "Thanks, man- WHOA!"

Nino was suddenly leaning closer to take a better look at his beanie. "DUDE! Did you get that?! Is that handmade?" He looked at the note and immediately recognized it by the handwriting. "Marinette made that for you?! It's _awesome!_ "

Adrien could just nod with a dopey grin as he stared at the beanie, feeling the soft cloth warm his hands. "Yeah, she is."

"Well, what else is in your bag?" Nino asked. Adrien blinked.

"Wait- there's more?"

Nino burst out into laughter, shaking his head. "Dude! If Marinette ever gets a gift for you, there won't just be _one_ thing."

"That's my girl," Alya's voice proudly rang out from behind them and the boys whipped around to see the two girls. Marinette was looking so joyful she could burst, even as she ducked into her scarf with red cheeks. In front of her there was a new sketchbook and several pieces of cloth stacked and folded neatly.

Adrien pulled out a small box of chocolates with a gasp and looked over at Marinette- she was sinking further into her seat- before reaching into the bag once more and jolting when his fingers brushed paper. Gingerly, he pulled out a stack of papers bonded together with red ribbon. His jaw dropped.

"Are these-" his voice came out in a whisper and he tried again, louder, "-are these some of your _designs?_ "

He looked back to Marinette with admiration written on his face and the girl gulped before nodding, twisting the end of her pigtails nervously between her fingers.

"Yeah, I- I didn't want there to be, like, not enough things, so I added some of my designs because… uhm…" she suddenly seemed embarrassed. "You said you liked them, so… I hope it's fine…"

"Marinette this is more than fine, this is _amazing!"_ Adrien exclaimed, carefully opening the first page. He gasped and just stared at it openmouthed, ignoring the way Alya and Nino burst into laughter.

There was a figure drawn on the page in a very stylish coat. The figure was Chat Noir.

"Oh, about the first page!" Marinette said, phasing into her designer mode and seemingly forgetting her shyness. She slid out of her bench and kneeled next to Adrien to point at the page. "Well, Chat Noir told me you guys were friends," she said, and his eyes widened even more if possible. _She remembers that?_ "So… I've been thinking to make him a coat, since it does get cold sometimes and the suit doesn't-" She suddenly paused and sheepishly laughed. "Er, I mean, the suit doesn't _look_ like it's very warm. That's what I think. And I already have a copy of this sketch so I can start making the coat, so I just added this copy for you." She smiled at him. "Keep it a secret from Chat, okay?"

It was all Adrien could do to not burst into happy tears. But he did hug her. Suddenly.

She gasped as he suddenly leaned down and wrapped the arm with the hand holding the papers around her.

"Thanks so much Marinette," he said once he pulled back, grinning. "This has to be the best gift I've ever gotten."

Marinette was staring at him with her eyes blown wide, and he started to wonder if he'd gone too far when she suddenly broke out into a smile and said "No problem" before standing up and sliding back into her seat.

He was too occupied in the rest of the book to notice how Alya, Nino and Marinette were screeching.

The rest of the two hours in the class flew by as the Muppet Christmas Carol played on the projector screen. People snacked on their chocolate and roasted chestnuts that were passed around, and walked around to talk to everybody and see what they got as gifts. Adrien proudly showed off his beanie with no small amount of praise towards Marinette, and he heard her embarrassed squeak every time. Everyone was awed, and he couldn't help thinking how lucky he had gotten again.

Between himself, Nino, Alya, and Marinette, the gifts were exchanged. Adrien had gifted Nino, who gifted Alya, who gifted Marinette, who gifted him. Again, an unreal amount of luck.

The movie was amazing. The students had an inkling that Mme. Bustier had chosen the Muppets movie since it was in English and they had a test one week after break ended, but it didn't matter much in the moment. The songs were hilarious and memorable, especially as students (horribly) sang along. Kim and Alix somehow made it into a competition of who could sing louder, and Max ended up stuffing his friend's mouth with chestnuts just to shut him up. Everyone laughed hard and long, even _Chloe_ smiled at one point, and all in all it was a very merry time.

After that everyone got up and stretched their limbs before making their way towards the auditorium, also lit up with thousands upon thousands of tiny fairy lights strung across the roof and walls and bleachers. The rest of the school was piled in to watch the play, restless and chattering. It seemed unreal, how amazing the time being spent was. Adrien was seated in the bleachers right in between Nino and Marinette, and they all enjoyed the play that they'd worked hard to produce. Adrien laughed at the bad puns, and laughed even harder when Nino and Marinette- _Marinette!-_ groaned. He never could have guessed, although maybe he should've considering how exasperated she got when Chat Noir did it.

After the play, school was out. Adrien didn't even have time to consider the notion of going home and get disappointed like he usually did. Instead, a hand tapped his shoulder as he was packing his things up at his desk and bidding goodbye to all his classmates who were exiting out the door and whooping about Christmas break.

He turned and saw Marinette. Immediately a smile graced his face. "Hey, Marinette!"

"H-hey Adrien, I was just wondering… uh…" she looked back at Alya, who vigorously nodded and gave double thumbs up. She inhaled before asking , "Do you want to come with Nino and Alya and I to my house for dinner?"

Adrien's eyes widened before asking, "Wait, really?"

Marinette suddenly backpedaled. "U-Uh! I mean, if you'd wanted, it's fine if you don't I was just asking it was just a-"

"No no!" He interrupted, shaking his hands in front of him to clear any confusion. "I was just surprised is all. Of course I want to!" He smiled at her in hopes of easing her nerves and thankfully it worked. Her form relaxed. "My schedule is free for the rest of break. But… should I bring something?" He suddenly remembered Marinette's parents and their incredible hospitality and felt guilty. "I can't just walk in for dinner without-"

"No!" Marinette interrupted this time. "They'd be happy just with your being there."

Adrien was staring at her and he realized he hadn't felt so welcomed before.

The four of them went straight to Marinette's house after Adrien called Nathalie. His caretaker had even said 'Merry Christmas' to him before hanging up and he supposed that Christmas spirit reached everybody.

The second he entered the bakery, the warmth and the scent of baked goods and pastries hit him like a gust of wind. There were warm lights and colorful pastries stacked up in the windows, lots of children standing with their parents in line, excitedly jumping up and down as they relayed off what they wanted. The scent of the bakery enveloped him and reminded him of Ladybug.

Adrien followed Marinette with Alya and Nino further into the bakery, into the back where the kitchens were. Her mother and father were inside, the petite woman expertly frosting something intricate as her husband kneaded the dough. Many workers with aprons tied around their waists were working with them, and occasionally one of the two would answer a question or shout out to the workers before resuming their work. Adrien was awed.

It was like a big cycle, a big and confusing cycle but not one that was tangled up. It was orderly, and warm and loving. All the workers looked so happy.

"Hello Maman, Papa," Marinette smiled as she walked up and kissed their cheeks.

"Ah, Marinette!" Her huge father enveloped her in an equally huge hug, laughing when she wriggled out covered in flour. He looked over and saw Adrien standing with Nino and Alya. His smile grew. "You brought friends!"

Marinette's mother looked up and gasped when she met Adrien's eyes. "Oh! You're Marinette's friend Adrien, aren't you? You've been here once before!" Adrien nodded, surprised and humbled that she remembered him. The woman smiled warmly at him. "Make yourself at home, and if you need anything, call us by Sabine or Tom."

Adrien almost couldn't find it in himself to reply, he almost just stood there gawking like an idiot, but thankfully Plagg was there and he thumped against him from inside his coat. Adrien jolted before stammering, "Yes Ma'a- uh, Sabine." Sabine just laughed before resuming her work with the piping bag.

He walked behind his friends as they exited the kitchen and opened up his coat a little. Plagg was expectantly staring up at him with those luminous green eyes.

"I expect some good cheese pastries," was all he said before ducking pack in. Adrien rolled his eyes and patted the cloth of his coat back down. He adjusted the beanie on his head with a smile, not taking it off even though they were indoors.

The four of them sat in Marinette's living room and just talked and played Monopoly. He'd rarely ever seen Alya and Marinette fight, but if there was anything to go to war over, it was Park Lane.

Nino somehow won- he took much offense when Alya emphasized that ' _somehow'_ in the video she was making- a good three hours later. In essence, it was quite the short game.

"I'm so good it only took me three hours to beat you all," Nino said pridefully as he leaned back against the sofa. They were sitting in a circle on the floor of Marinette's living room, the Monopoly board between them.

"American games are weird," was all Adrien said, causing his best friend to break out in outrage and betrayal, saying things like "We had a _thing_ Adrien, _bromance._ Not anymore." Adrien went along with the breakup joke, pretending to be miserable, and he wasn't very sure about the other three but he laughed so hard his ribs hurt. He was also pretty sure that the vibrating in his pocket was Plagg stifling his laughter, too.

They hooked up Ultimate Mecha Strike to the TV to play. Alya promptly forbade Marinette from playing until someone was stupid enough to challenge her, and Marinette pouted saying that she'd never get to play. In the end, Marinette played all three of them- that is to say, Adrien was at the control while Nino and Alya shouted random things at him in attempts to help. It just made Adrien's loss worse than it would have been without their "help", and Marinette won with a fifty-thousand point gap.

"…you guys," Adrien groaned, flopping back as Alya and Nino laughed loudly. "I could've beat her without you two confusing me!"

"Nah," Alya smirked, "she would've beaten you anyways."

"Let a guy dream."

It was time for dinner, then, and Adrien swore he'd never seen so many varieties of food on one table before despite having a professional chef at home. There were things he couldn't name, colorful and steaming hot, there were dumplings, stews, quiches- Adrien vaguely wondered if they were feeding an army. Not that he was complaining.

The food itself tasted _heavenly,_ but Adrien felt like it tasted all the better because of everyone there at the table with him. While the food his chef prepared tasted good and was immaculate in the way professional meals were, he was always alone at the table meant for dozens. Here, it was the opposite: everyone was tightly packed around the medium sized table, passing dishes back and forth, talking loudly and sharing stories, having the time of their lives. Tom and Sabine made it a point to exploit every embarrassing tale about Marinette, and he laughed hard, at the stories and at Marinette's embarrassment towards her parents. He'd always thought how a warm aura was radiated out of Marinette, and how he always felt welcome on her balcony as Chat Noir, but he hadn't even thought about the inside of her home- how she was raised, what her roots were like.

He felt like he was at home.

Despite their insisting, Adrien helped clear the table anyways with Marinette, and so did Nino and Alya because everyone else was too. Adrien decided his new role model was Tom. The man made jokes- _bad_ jokes. Literally, he and Tom were the only ones cracking up while Sabine, Marinette, Nino and Alya just groaned and begged them to stop. They didn't. The six of them spent the better part of 8'o clock cleaning up as they laughed and exchanged riddles and played little verbal games.

It was time for Alya to leave. She had the earliest curfew out of all of them, at 8:30. She hugged Sabine and Tom goodbye before waving to her three friends as she left.

"She has little siblings," Marinette said as Alya's figure got smaller and smaller down the street. "So she needs to be home pretty early."

"I wonder what having a little sibling would be like," Adrien mused, and Sabine laughed.

"Oh, believe me, Marinette used to _wonder_ that too. She used to beg day and night for a little sibling-"

"Until," Tom continued with mischief, ignoring his protesting daughter. "She saw a movie where the baby got more attention and decided that she didn't want that-"

"Papa!" Marinette loudly interrupted, her cheeks red. "That's not true!"

"Sure," he chuckled, then turned around to Adrien and loudly whispered, "It is!"

"PAPA!"

The other four people in the household laughed merrily. Half an hour later, Nino was pulling his gloves and wrapping his scarf around his neck.

"See you again soon, Tom and Sabine!" Nino grinned. Marinette's parents smiled back.

"So you'll be in town this year?" Sabine asked. Nino nodded.

"Yup! Alya as well. We both visited our families last year and we go every other year, so there's that." With that and a final goodbye, Nino was out the door.

"Oh it's the same for us too, isn't it?" Tom asked Sabine, who nodded. "We visited Sabine's family in China last year. We're going again next year."

"That sounds nice," Adrien said, pleasantly smiling. He'd never really travelled much before, outside of European countries and America at one point. Seeing Asia and it's different cultures one day would be really cool.

Tom regarded Adrien for a few moments before putting a big warm hand on Adrien's head, catching the teen by surprise. The man grinned and ruffled Adrien's hair.

"You're welcome here anytime, son."

Adrien's eyes widened. Son.

Why was it that this man acted like more of a father to him than his real one ever did?

There Tom was again, looking at Adrien in that same way for a few moments before taking his hand off of his head.

"Head home safely, alright?"

Adrien blinked, realizing that it was already 9:15, somehow, and that he had to be home by 9:30. Trying to fend off the feelings of disappointment and chastising himself for being selfish, Adrien wrapped his scarf around his neck and wore his overcoat and gloves, preparing to leave.

As he stepped down the steps of the bakery, frigid air immediately turning his nose and cheeks reddish, and began to head off towards home, a voice called out to him. "Wait!"

Adrien blinked and turned around quickly to see Marinette. "Marinette?"

"Uhm, I just…" Marinette rubbed the back of her neck and blinked. Her eyes were reflecting all of the Christmas lights strung around the city. "Papa wasn't kidding, you know. You can come over again if you wanted, spend a day like this one again." Something in her face shifted and suddenly she looked sad. "Because your home… it might not...keep you smiling."

Adrien could feel his eyebrows drawing together the slightest bit, his eyes widening the slightest bit, and even though he'd been trained to show the emotion he was told to, it wasn't working right now. There were tears in his eyes. Luckily the cool air dried them so fast that he could barely tell they were there himself, but he was still shocked. How had a couple of words from Marinette managed to do that?

Like before in class, he hugged her, but this time she hugged back. When they pulled away she smiled at him and said, "Have a good break."

He was looking into her eyes back and forth for a few seconds before stepping back and bidding her a goodnight.

As he walked home that night, his boots leaving crunching footsteps in the snow glittering with red and pink lights, he realized there was another similarity.

Similarity number five: his feelings for them both.

He was in love with Marinette.

 **Posting separately, one more chapter there as a two-shot**


	2. Chapter 2

**ah… *wince***

 **don't kill me? pls? :D**

 **:'D**

 **;'D**

 **IM SORRY! I even sent out promises to people asking about this story like "lol yeee the chaps coming soon yup yup" and IT TOOK SO FREAKING LONG! I kNoW I keep giving excuses and like how it needs to be "perfect" but like FINALS are here and its pretty tiring. Ugghhh…. and now, idk if its just for me, but Fanfiction Net went down! SO WHEN I WAS FINALLY READY, I COULD NOT UPLOAD!**

 **Needless to say im updating my AN for like the billionth time before uploading. Just… ITS IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! SEE, I ANTICIPATED THIS ALL! I MEANT FOR IT TO BE RELEASED NOW!**

"You guys _hugged?!_ Why does all the interesting stuff happen after I'm gone?!"

Marinette laughed over the phone as Alya's voice cracked- because of the connection or because of her exasperation, Marinette didn't know. Speaker mode was always worse. But her laughter died down as she remembered his face before they'd hugged. It was a couple of hours ago but she kept seeing it in her mind like it was fresh.

"He needed it," Marinette said softly as she pinned black cloth up to a torso mannequin. "Really badly."

Alya's end of the line was quiet for a few moments before she spoke up, "Good thing you were there for him then." The mood was heavy and serious for a few moments before Alya added, "Without spasming in his arms, too."

Immediately the atmosphere was light again as Marinette groaned over Alya's guffawing. "I freak out, you make fun of me," Marinette melodramatically said, "I don't freak out you _still_ make fun of me. What am I supposed to do- OW!" Marinette pouted and viewed her index finger in the light. A red bead of blood was forming on it because of the needle prick. Marinette could see Tikki shaking her head as she sat on top of a spool of thread and Marinette rolled her eyes before sticking her finger in her mouth.

"You're supposed to not hurt yourself," Alya's voice said amusedly, and Marinette stuck her tongue out even though Alya couldn't see. Marinette was about to respond when suddenly a loud _thump_ from above made her jump up and almost screech. Almost.

"Girl, _what was that,"_ Alya asked from the other end of the line. Marinette suddenly balked as she knew what, rather _who_ it was- _who else_ \- and realized she had to hide her project, and fast.

"Uhh- just a stray cat-" Marinette managed through all of her floundering and tripping. She hurriedly picked the entire mannequin up before gently setting it underneath her desk. Her head sharply connected with the underside of her desk as she tried to quickly get up. Alya heard this too, of course, and began mildly freaking out.

"No cat is that big," Alya's voice was coming from the phone on top of the desk. Damn her logical thinking skills! "Is there an _earthquake_ going on over there? Jeez! Should I come ove-"

"NO NO NO It's perfectly fine all is well," the words flew out of Marinette's lips as she was getting up and rubbing the sore spot on her head. She slid all of her needles and threads into her little tray and, thankfully, Tikki was there to put that away. Marinette gave her a grateful nod before motioning for her to hide as well. "I just, now I have to deal with that stray cat so I'll call you later bye!" She slammed the end call button and threw her phone on her chaise. The one thing worse in this moment than Chat Noir seeing his coat would be Alya somehow figuring out that Chat visited her. Marinette shivered just at the thought of what would happen then.

Marinette gave her rushed job of a clean-up one last look over, nodded and then climbed up her loft bed to get to the trap door. The moment she opened the door the cold winter air- as to be expected on December 23rd- hit her and she sniffed a little. Chat was there, comfortably sitting on the balcony in his usual pose.

"Chat," she said as greeting. "Day going well?"

He didn't turn around, but answered, " _Purr_ fectly a _meow_ zing, thanks." Then he turned and Marinette saw his cheeky grin, and she groaned.

"I hope you didn't drop by just to make puns."

"Uh… do you have those gougères? I came by here before and got them, and my kw-er- friend is a cheese freak and…" Chat paused and sighed. "I feel like an idiot."

Marinette had a small feeling he came for something more, so she just said "Nothing new for you" with a sly grin, laughed at his mock hurt, and went down to get several of the cheesy choux pastries in a bag. She headed back up to the balcony, this time with a blanket around her shoulders, and handed him the bag. She took a seat on the chaise and got comfortable.

"Spill."

Chat blinked. "What- the gougères-?"

"No," Marinette rolled her eyes, "you obviously didn't come just for the gougères. So… you can talk now if you want."

Chat was looking at her, just looking as if she'd spoken in another language, and she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What, something on my face?" She joked, and Chat blinked and shook his head. In the process his eye caught sight of her finger and he leaned forward, concern on his face.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, this?" Marinette held her finger up. There was a small red bead at the tear in the skin again. "Nothing, I was just sewing." Marinette suddenly froze up. "Uh- nothing really specific, or anything, just sewing for, uh, practice- not that it matters to you right? But I mean I'll just say anyways because I'm rambling now." Marinette slapped her own forehead. _Way to make things totally inconspicuous, you dunderhead._

Chat leaned back again with an oddly knowing look and his clawed hands played with the edge of the paper bag the gougères were in, skillfully disregarding her word-vomit like he had practice. He opened his mouth a few times, and closed it again before finally speaking a few moments later.

"Okay, uh… imagine yourself in a theoretical situation where you know these two people." His eyes met Marinette's and the girl nodded, prompting for him to continue. "And these two people, one of them you know you're in love with and the other one you're really good friends with."

Marinette blinked; this theoretical situation didn't have to be very theoretical for her at all. It was her, Adrien and Chat.

"And then you start noticing lots of similarities between these two people… and…" Chat looked confused, his ears and tail drooping. His hands gripped the paper bag tighter but his claws didn't tear through. "And then your friend says something that sort of just opens your eyes and makes you realize you've been loving them, too. Is that unfair?" Chat met Marinette's eyes again, but he looked strangely desperate, as if her answer had a weight to it.

Marinette leaned into her chaise, gnawing on her lip as she thought. Out of all the questions Chat could have asked, she wasn't expecting this one. And what was more surprising, to her at least, was that she didn't have an answer this time.

"Well, is what unfair?" Marinette asked in hopes of understanding better. Chat looked down at the bag of gougères and his eyebrows under the mask were furrowed.

"If you're in love with your friend now… are you a bad person for loving two people at once? And did you fall in love with your friend because of the similarities to the person you're already in love with, or was it all on its own? And if you say it was on its own, does that make you a person in denial? A bad person again?"

Marinette hung on to each and every word that came out of Chat's ramble and, for some reason, her heart was beating faster, like it knew something was up and that she should…

She should tell him she didn't know, because how could she? She wasn't an expert on love or anything-

"Love," Marinette's mouth was moving on its own, words were coming out on their own, "has no limits, so you wouldn't be a bad person for loving twice. And… if you're really in love with your friend, it won't be just for the little things that remind you of that other person, because those qualities are what you love the other person for. So your love for your friend was all on its own, or because of that thing they said that made you open your eyes and just realize. Does it make sense?" But it didn't. It couldn't! She had no idea what she was saying herself, she couldn't even apply it _to_ herself, she-

' _My Lady!'_

She couldn't-

' _What a purr-fect entrance you made.'_

It didn't apply to her!

' _I'll take it as a compliment that you think I smell like a rockstar…'_

She only gave him a random answer!

' _No, because you two are so alike.'_

She didn't need to open her eyes. She was in love _once_ and only once-…

' _YOU are Ladybug, and without you that girl wouldn't be here right now. So fight on!'_

…right?

Chat nodded and, after a few moments, he softly said, "So it's alright?"

Marinette was nodding before she could think it through. "I think it is." Chat gave her a small, grateful smile before waving goodbye and leaping away, no tricks this time since the bag of pastries was in his hand. Marinette watched him go silently.

She felt selfish.

She got up from the chaise and went back into her room, discarding her blanket. The air outside of her blanket felt cold and she sat down on her chair wordlessly. Tikki slowly floated out from behind Marinette's computer and worriedly looked at her charge, who was staring at her own hands.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" Tikki softly asked, floating forward. She gently touched Marinette's forehead and the girl just blinked.

"I wonder who he's in love with." Then, as a gentle afterthought that she hadn't meant to say out loud, but passed by like the breeze, "He's similar to Adrien."

…..

Adrien absently unwrapped and rewrapped the red ribbon from Marinette's book of designs around his hand as he flipped through each page. Slowly, meticulously, he had spent over an hour going through all 32 pages of Marinette's book and pored over every detail under several lights illuminating his dark room in the night. Despite the chilly night, Adrien had shedded his usual over jacket and was in his black T-shirt. He wasn't a designer, but anyone with eyes could tell that the designs were of high caliber, were crafted with thought and love and passion. It showed in her rough redraws over other lines, little doodles in the margins, in her small notes to keep on track. And now Adrien was staring at the first page again.

Chat Noir was on the page with his right hand confidently on his hip, wearing a coat that melded in with yet somehow stood out against his suit. There was a little speech bubble pointing towards his grinning mouth that just said ' _some really bad pun because Chat is lame like that! :P'_ inside of it in Marinette's loopy handwriting. There were also little black cats drawn in the margin, sleeping or just sitting there or batting at a ball of yarn.

Speaking of little black cats…

"Aren't you going to take one?" Adrien asked, sitting up and opening the bag of gougères. By now Plagg would've dived in and devoured every single pastry, but they were left untouched.

The kwami floated over from Adrien's computer desk where the Ladyblog was open, also casting out light, and settled on Adrien's bed. Then he said something unexpected.

"Are you going to ramble to me like you always do or keep it bottled up this time? 'Cause even though it sucks when I have to listen to you, rambling is better than keeping quiet."

Adrien blinked, taken aback. "What?"

Plagg was looking at him with an expression that just showed he _knew_ something. It definitely wasn't pity, but it wasn't careless either. "Just tell me. And don't hold back like you did on Marinette, either."

Adrien's eyed widened fractionally when he heard Plagg use her real name. He settled into a crisscross position and twisted the ring on his finger around.

"You told me once that kwamis were thousands of years old. You must have a counterpart that you haven't seen in a long time. The ladybug kwami, right?"

Plagg was quiet, looking at Adrien oddly, before saying, "Yeah. I haven't seen Tikki in a while. What's that got to do with anything?"

"So… loving made you hurt. Love hurt you, didn't it?"

Before Plagg could say anything, Adrien continued, "People romanticize love so much. Love _is_ romance. Heck, Paris is the city of love. But love, it just has so many conditions." Adrien frowned and the twisting of his ring paused. "Add a little bit of distance, or add a little bit more time, and then suddenly all that love turns into pain. Suddenly if things change just the littlest bit, you start having these doubts, and everything just flips upside down for no reason other than the fact that you _love._ And it just makes me wonder," his frown deepened and he clenched his fist a little, "if the reason my father stopped loving was because it hurt him too much."

There was the chiming of the grandfather clock downstairs. It was midnight, and it was also officially Christmas Eve.

There were rules for Adrien set in place that he broke as Chat. Where Adrien was calm, Chat Noir was reckless. Where Adrien was supposed to hide his weaker emotions behind a (metaphorical) mask, Chat Noir could- ironically- exploit all of those weaknesses because of the mask that sat across his cheekbones. Adrien was reigned in; Chat Noir lashed out.

And now Adrien was angry, effectively breaking all three rules.

"I wish love didn't have to hurt," Adrien spat. "Or- what'd be better- if you could just… I don't know. Forget all your sad moments. Yeah. Then you'd only be happy and you would have no problems no matter what. And love would be what love is _supposed_ to be, happy and magical feeling instead of a big pain in the rear!"

Adrien was given only a second to spare before Plagg cut in, "That's some BS if I ever heard any."

Adrien looked to Plagg incredulously. "But Tikki-"

"-is my counterpart," Plagg interrupted again. "And I miss her. I miss Tikki a lot. But do you think it'd really matter to me that much if we finally met up and I didn't remember the frustration of being apart?"

At Adrien's silence, Plagg shook his little head with a sigh and flew over to sit on Adrien's hand. "The way you feel is normal, kid. But being sad contributes to you, to who you are. You can't just push it aside."

Adrien ruefully smiled and traced one finger over the smiling Chat Noir on the page. "…I know. And what's more ironic is-" A short laugh escaped him, but it sounded more forced than anything. "-I'm the one freaking out when _I'm_ the one who loves two people… I'm not even the one with the short end of the straw." Adrien sighed and retracted his hand. "I'm ridiculous."

Plagg snorted. "Yup. At least you admitted it this time." At Adrien's halfhearted glare, from which Plagg could tell that a little bit of weight was taken off of his shoulders, the kwami grinned and dove into the bag of gougères, popping out a moment later with a belch. Adrien's face morphed into the most funny, horrified expression.

"Plagg. Do _not_ tell me you just ate every single gougère right- right then."

Plagg licked a crumb off of his paw.

"You could have at least saved one for me!"

Plagg snickered and floated back to Adrien's computer desk, but not without burping many times along the way. Adrien's sigh of "You're disgusting" was replied to with another snicker before the kwami went to sleep almost right as his head touched the table.

Love problems were more exhausting than akumas.

…

The next day Alya went to visit the Dupain Cheng's bakery. She went around 11 in the morning, but of course there was a ridiculous rush since it was Christmas Eve and people were all trying to buy cakes for their Christmas dinners from the most popular bakery in the city. Somehow, though, Sabine miraculously managed to notice Alya and waved her over.

"Alya! Good to see you again," the woman cheerfully said as she manned the register. It was almost scary how fast her fingers flew across the register's buttons, checking out customer after customer with no pause and still managing to talk to Alya.

"You too, Sabine," Alya replied just as cheerfully. "I'll head up for a little before coming back down for a purchase?"

"Yes, Marinette is in her room right now," Sabine said before telling the customer in front of her that he was short two euros.

Alya headed up, the path engrained in her mind by now. It was secondary routine for her to head over to the bakery. Of course now the inside of the bakery had a Christmas vibe, even more intense than the last day of break when Adrien and Nino had come over too. There were fairy lights in green and red wrapped nearly everywhere, around every glass pastry case, and little angels were sitting on top of the counters and cases too. Glowing snowflakes hung down from the ceiling, how they even got there she had no idea but she had a feeling Tom had something to do with it. There were also festive Ladybug and Chat Noir cut outs (basically a Santa hat was tossed onto each one) with donation boxes attached to them, which were already filled with money.

Alya climbed up the stairs to Marinette's trapdoor and paused right before she entered.

"She _was_ acting super strange last time over phone," Alya mused. "I wonder what that was about…" Alya knocked twice before opening up. She was greeted to the sight of Marinette flailing in her computer chair before falling backwards with a loud _thud_.

"Hello to you too," Alya said amusedly as she went inside the room all the way and closed the trap door behind her.

"A-A-Alya!" Marinette sputtered in shock. "I- did we make plans? I was…"

"No, I just came," Alya said, walking over to Marinette's chaise and sitting down. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed Marinette's hands. "What happened to your hands?"

Almost every single one of Marinette's fingers were wrapped up in bandages. Her friend sheepishly looked down to them before laughing awkwardly.

"Uh… I was trying to work on something but I kept getting distracted," she confessed. Alya didn't think much of it at first- after all, things easily distracted Marinette- until she saw how Marinette was staring down at the mannequin she was making something- seemingly a coat- on. Then Alya realized that one of the times in which Marinette could not be distracted, not even by a flying meteor, was when she was designing or making something. Something was very obviously wrong.

"Is anything…" Alya paused and then started over. "You can tell me anything, you know." Marinette looked up to her, startled, and Alya added, "If you need to, that is. If something is bothering you."

Marinette looked strangely guilty. "You're a really good friend, Alya."

Alya, despite being flattered on the inside, narrowed her eyes at Marinette's praise. If the things from before didn't notify her, then with this Alya was definitely positive that Marinette had something pressing on her mind.

Marinette suddenly asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

Alya blinked at the sudden change in topic, but complied. "Sure, shoot."

"Umm… so I have this friend and he asked me if it's bad to love more than one person at once?"

Alya immediately raised an eyebrow. "A friend."

Marinette cringed. "Uh, that's not the important part! The question he asked is more important."

Alya was silent- seemingly she decided to hold off on the intensive questioning- and Marinette continued, "Well, it was more complicated. He gave me an example, like, say you're in love with someone and then you fall in love with your very good friend. You love both of them and then you're confused. Does that make you bad?"

Alya cocked her head. "What did you say to him?"

"Well, I-" Marinette sighed and tugged on her hair. "I don't even know why I gave him the advice that I did! It just came out on its own! I said that its okay to love two people and those feelings are natural and… urgh. I don't know. I just wanted to answer him," she admitted. Alya was looking at her in a strange way. Then a smirk slowly pulled at her mouth.

"Were you speaking from experience?"

Marinette spluttered. "What _experience?!_ I'm in love with Adrien Agreste and I'm pretty sure there's only one Adrien so how could I love two people that's totally absurd because I don't who else would I love-?"

"Relax, I'm joking," Alya laughed, putting her hands on Marinette's shoulders. Marinette pouted. "But it's because of this question he asked you that you can't design this jacket here?"

Marinette nodded with a sigh. "Yeah. I keep poking myself and none of the stitches turn out right." She frowned. "I want to finish it by tonight, too."

Alya hummed in thought. "Well, if it helps, I'll give you my answer to his question." Marinette perked up. "Someone who loves two people…"

Marinette leaned in and Alya inwardly grinned. "…must be a horrible, two-timing douche that deserves no love at all because they can't make up their mind and probably hand out their love like samples at the market." Alya knew she had Marinette when the girl's face suddenly paled. "Right?"

"Uhh," Marinette shook with forced laughter, her face still pale and eyes wide, "that's… a bit harsh, no? Er, I mean, it's your opinion but-"

Alya smirked and tapped Marinette's nose. "Gotchu."

Marinette blanched even further and her mouth opened and closed in shock. "W-what do you mean- did you _trick_ me?"

Alya leaned back and looked at Marinette with a knowing grin. "If you want my take on it, I think you should stop lying to yourself. Then your jacket will be done in no time, just like usual."

Marinette looked utterly lost as Alya got up from the chaise. She stared up at her friend. "Lying to myself?"

Alya was still grinning. "I've gotta go now, I stopped by because of how weird you were on the phone and 'cause I need to buy a log cake for Christmas dinner." She offered Marinette one last face splitting grin as she was halfway down the stairs, and called out, "You were never a good liar."

The trapdoor fell shut.

Tikki flew out of her hiding spot. Marinette was sitting there staring into space and Tikki zoomed in close to the girl's face. "Marinette?" Tikki lightly patted one cheek. "Hello? Earth to Marinette!"

Marinette snapped out of her trancelike state with a blink. "Sorry! I was… thinking."

Marinette didn't specify what, but Tikki had a feeling she definitely knew what it was when Marinette spent the better part of the next half hour in a debate with herself (hair tugging and groaning and tripping included) before finally settling down with a nod and working on the jacket with her usual flair.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien was going to go outside as Chat Noir. It wasn't anything new- he tried cramming in superhero time into his schedule as much as physically possible- but since it was Christmas Eve he doubted Ladybug would be outside at all. She'd probably be out shopping with family, just like the crowds upon crowds of people in the streets below that he could see from his window. Usually he went out for night patrols with Ladybug, but he enjoyed the feeling of Chat Noir in and of itself. Besides, maybe he could engage in a friendly snowball fight with some kids or make a few civilians' days for Christmas. That always lifted his mood as well.

"It's only _seven_ ," Plagg said from where he was eating (just like usual). "And it's snowing! Why would you want to leave this place?"

"I learned my lesson from last year," Adrien replied as he wrapped his scarf around his neck and pulled on gloves. He'd asked Nathalie if he could go out a couple hours back, and since it was break he didn't have anything in his schedule so she couldn't exactly say no. He had sort of said yes _for_ her, but- that was beside the point. He would go out as Chat Noir, and then after he had to detransform he could still roam around as Adrien. "If I go out on Christmas day, then a city-wide search will be held for me." Adrien rolled his eyes. "Father gets very dramatic. Besides, I have some gifts which I want to drop off to my friends' houses, too." He gestured to a (fairly large) black sack next to his bed and Plagg raised a nonexistent eyebrow.

"Gifts to drop off to your friends. As Chat Noir."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah."

Plagg's nonexistent eyebrow raised higher. He looked just about done with the world. "And your friends won't wonder at all why Chat Noir would come and drop off _Adrien's_ presents?"

Adrien nonchalantly waved a gloved hand in the air. "It's fine, nobody will see me. They'll all be out anyways, I'll just slip the present in with the rest of them under the tree. And if they do see me, I'll just say that Adrien asked me to deliver!"

Plagg's nonexistent eyebrow couldn't go any higher so he raised the other one. How could someone like Adrien, who was an ace in all of his classes and knew Chinese and Morse code, be so _dense?_ "Right, because they'll believe that a superhero who nobody can get ahold of will agree to deliver presents for _one civilian._ For sure."

"Well, they won't see me anyways," Adrien said as he grinned. "What's that thing people say about Chat Noir? Silent and quick as the night?"

"Those are the civilians that wax it out," Plagg said with mild disdain. He floated over to Adrien. "What's got you so excited anyways, huh? Are you planning to drop off a present at your girlfriend's house, too?"

Adrien immediately turned away to lift the sack up and called out, "She's not my girlfriend!" Plagg waited for the infamous 'she's just a friend' line to come at him but it never did.

"Plagg, transform me!"

Adrien was replaced with Chat Noir in an instant. He hefted his bag up on his shoulder and leapt out of his window into the snowy city below- at least, he _would_ have, had there not been a beeping sound coming from his baton to stop him. He curiously pulled it out and was surprised to see a voice message left by Ladybug no more than four minutes ago.

He pressed play and her voice rang out, ' _Meet me at our usual spot if you can. I have something I want to give to you. Merry Christmas Eve, Chat!'_

She was there? She wanted to see him? She had something she wanted to give to him? Chat could feel himself wriggle in excitement a little. This time he did heft his bag over his shoulder, but not before opening it up and sifting through it. Chat found Ladybug's present and placed it on the top of the pile so he could give it to her without having to dig through the bag when they met up. He closed it up again and leapt out into the snow, quickly heading for the top of the Eiffel Tower. It hadn't been long since Ladybug left the message- hopefully she'd still be waiting for him by the time he got there.

…

Ladybug casually sat on one of the higher rungs of the Eiffel Tower with a box next to her as she swung her legs. Her outer appearance was the complete opposite of how she was faring inside, though- she wanted to get up and pace around in circles really badly, at the mildest. She'd brought the gift for Chat. After Alya had left, Marinette had spent the next five hours working on the jacket for him nonstop. As of now, she was having ridiculous scenarios invade her mind of Chat looking disgusted with the jacket and tossing it over the edge of the tower before turning away and saying how he wanted to work with a new Ladybug. Honestly, she would laugh at that image had she thought it up at any other time- Chat was far too sweet to do that, and, well, she had faith in her creations- but after working for such a long time with no breaks , things were bound to have happened to her brain.

After she'd finished the jacket, though, Marinette hadn't immediately packed it up and transformed to meet up with Chat. Oh, no, far from it. She'd actually debated doing her homework due after break, and the homework from the day after, and then the homework from the week after. Marinette was trying to put off the meeting with Chat as much as possible, but Tikki would have none of it (she threatened Marinette that she'd forcibly enter the Miraculous and made it a point to emphasize how uncomfortable it would be. Needless to say Marinette knew now that Tikki was formidable when she wanted to be), and so here she was now, faking confidence when really she felt like she was about to fall off of the tower and onto the ground hundreds of feet below on her face.

It'd been five minutes since she messaged Chat. "I'll wait five more minutes and then if he doesn't come I'll leave," she decided, shivering a little and breaths coming in visible puffs. It was frigid out, and she hadn't started working on her own jacket to wear as Ladybug yet. The top of the box containing Chat's gift had a thin layer of snow on it and Ladybug wiped it clean. She had half a mind to wear the jacket she'd brought for him, but it'd just be ridiculous if he came and she gave him the jacket she was wearing as a gift.

One more minute passed and Ladybug began seriously debating whether she should take the jacket out and wear it not when there was a light _thump_ behind her. Her ears had been trained to recognize that slight sound and she turned around to see Chat with a huge black sack. She raised an eyebrow.

"Is someone playing Santa this year?"

"Yup," Chat replied with a grin as he walked forward to sit next to her. "Santa _Claws."_

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I should have expected that." She turned and picked up the blue box- it was collecting snow again- before handing it to Chat. "Here. It's my Christmas gift to you."

Chat's ears perked up and his breath caught. "Lady- you didn't have to-"

"I did," Ladybug interrupted, beaming. "So, here."

Chat looked hesitant before he gingerly accepted the gift. He didn't open it and instead opened his bag up and took a parcel out from the top.

"I got you something too, so now we're even," he said, and only responded with a grin when Ladybug muttered "So why did you say I didn't have to get you one?"

"Don't you know that I'm a gentle _meown_?" Chat asked, and there was immediately white cold powder flung on top of his head, melting and seeping into his locks. He didn't mind.

"Well, this may be the closest to Christmas that we will be together. Shall we?"

They both pulled the ribbons on their presents at the same time and continued to unwrap in synchrony. Off came the wrapping paper, neat and without tears, and then the lids of the boxes were lifted. Ladybug immediately gasped and lifted out two necklaces.

"Wow, Chat! These are so pretty!" Her smile widened as she leaned in and eyed them more. One had a silver chain with two glittering crystal charms at the end, one of a ladybug and a cat, of course. The other one wasn't as fancy and was clearly homemade- its base string was two soft pieces of red and black yarn woven together, and little green and red and black beads were adorned between spaces. She felt like she knew which one she'd be wearing more often. "You bought one and made the other, right? It's very cool!" She turned to Chat Noir and paused upon seeing that Chat hadn't lifted his gift out of the box and was just staring down at it. Even the lid of the box was still in his hand! Ladybug suddenly saw all of her stupid visionaries intensify in her mind, including lots of explosions and fire and wasted fabric. It spurred her to say something, which she definitely would have not done if she was a sane person.

"Um… do you like it?" She hesitantly asked. "I mean, I, it's true I worked on most of it today- but er- I mean, I thought it was okay-? Did I miss a stitch or is it just the design-?"

"You made this?" Chat softly interrupted. Ladybug cut off and swallowed thickly.

"Yes…"

Chat finally lifted the soft fabric out of the box gingerly, as if he were afraid it'd tear between his own claws. He held it up with wonder and suddenly a sob choked out of him with a puff of white air. Ladybug suddenly jolted and almost slipped off of the slick rung. "Chat?! Are you ok? I can remake it if you want-"

"It's even better in real life," he said with tears in the corners of his eyes, and Ladybug stopped midsentence yet again.

"…what?" _What's that supposed to even mean?_ Her mind felt numb and it wasn't just from the cold.

He turned to her with a grin that nearly split his face in two. Tears streamed over his cheeks and hit the rung below, freezing a few seconds later. He hurriedly wiped them away.

"Sorry, what I meant was- I just- I really love it. I just haven't had things made for me much. That's all."

Ladybug immediately relaxed and ignored her heart which was nearly slamming itself out of her ribcage. "Oh, Chat. It's fine. And your homemade gift is perfect, I love it!"

Chat laughed through his tears. "That's _nothing_ in front of this." Ladybug opened her mouth to protest but smiled instead as he excitedly put the jacket on and turned to her. "It's so _warm!_ You're amazing."

Ladybug turned the other way to hide her pinking cheeks (but it was just because of the cold, really). She held out his homemade necklace. "Help me put it on?"

"Of course!" He pulled the two ends of the string loosely around her neck and tied the ends at the nape of her neck in a double knot. She turned back to him and lifted a bead up.

"I love it, Chat. Thank you so much."

She wore his necklace and he barely refrained from blurting out _I love you too_ right in her face from how happy it made him.

Her face suddenly blended in with her mask and a cold feeling seeped into his stomach when he realized that he _hadn't refrained and said it out loud._

"I mean I- I say it out of habi…" He trailed off. A subconscious part of his mind interrupted his excuse and reminded him that no, he didn't really say it out of habit. There was nobody he regularly said 'I love you' to- definitely not his father, or Nathalie or the Gorilla. Plagg would probably retch. Nino would ask him if he was feeling okay. None of his instructors or classmates or fencing teammates or fellow models were people he said 'I love you' to…

…then again, this was a different kind of love, wasn't it? It was the one he'd felt twice. Wait…

Twice. He suddenly broke out in loud peals of laughter and keeled over on the rung, clutching his ribs for dear life. Tears streamed down his cheeks again and Ladybug's confusion was something he could sense, even when he couldn't see through the tears blurring his vision. It made him laugh harder.

"Um, C-Chat? You really aren't feeling good are you-?"

"Lady- Ladybug," he laughed out, "picture this, you freak out over loving two people, and they end up being the same person?" He hiccupped and breathlessly said, "I'm such an idiot!"

He'd never forget how she looked that day: snow gathering in her dark blue hair, beaded necklace strung across her collarbones, red cheeks and nose and blue eyes that were too big and too beautiful for the world and an absolutely priceless expression of shock on her face.

"Oh my God…"

She grabbed his hands and forced him to look at her in the eyes through his laughter. She squinted and then breathed out, "Oh my God. Oh my God."

"Oh my God is right!"

"This is ridiculous!" She said as a huge gigantic grin pulled at her face. "You're ridiculous. I'm ridiculous!"

"Ridiculously happy-"

She didn't need the aid of mistletoe.

 **happy reveal ~**


End file.
